Coral Gables Riviera

Friday, August 29, 1941, page 6 (of 8)

← Earlier issue Later issue → Download this page

The page

You can also pinch or scroll to zoom, and drag to move around.

The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.

CORAL GABLES RIVIERA

AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Published every Friday by the Miami Riviera Publishing Co., 306 Coral Way, Coral Gables, Fla. Established January, 1926 Combined with the Dade County and Coconut Grove Times, 1929. ALBERT E. HARUM - President and Publisher JAMES B. MOORE - Managing Editor Mailing Address, P. O. Box 704 Telephone 4-1634 Member, Florida Press Association National Editorial Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year by Carrier, Coral Gables and immediate vicinity $2.00 Six Months $1.25 One Year by Mail $3.00 Entered as second class matter May 21, 1926, at the Postoffice at Miami, Florida, under Act of March 3, 1879.

Rational Rationing

The gasoline shortage and the hint that fuel soon will be rationed is rapidly assuming the proportions of a "scare." Ordinarily, viewing a situation affecting our national interests with understanding, many of us have gone to the other extreme and are resorting to shouting and screaming about its effect on our retail season. It is certainly commendable that we think about our visitors, who, of course, are a principal stock-in-trade. But it's like beating on a stone wall. It's like the man who was imprisoned in an impregnable cell. He resorted for many years to trying to scrape his way out, to sawing the window bars with a nailfile; he beat against the walls, screamed his defiance at the guards, and then, in a state of exhaustion, he fell against the cell door which opened to his touch. This gas shortage needn't affect our business. This emergency needs only a large dose of common sense with which our guests-to-be are undoubtedly endowed. Winter vacationists know that there is a gasoline shortage and want to do their share to alleviate it. It isn't Florida's fault! And who is there to say that the only way to enjoy yourself in Florida is to drive through its beauty. Come, come, my friends.

Join Up, Now!

No person who has a spark of human kindness can see a suffering or starving puppy without experiencing a tinge of sympathy. There are few persons who have not had, at one time or another, a pet whose intense loyalty, blind devotion and faithful companionship made the world a little brighter. A dog's arrival in this maze is unheralded, unsung. After he gets here he either lives the life of royalty or of mendicancy. It is in this latter class that the Humane Society of Greater Miami is interested. It is to aid the mendicant, homeless and suffering puppy that the society is conducting an intensive drive in this area. They ask one dollar—little enough for the noble work they are doing. Let's all dig down and make, a "dog's life" mean better things for Coral Gables canines.

The New Grove Post Office

News that the site for the new Coconut Grove Post Office building has been selected should be welcome words to the residents of that suburban residential area. The building will be erected on the west side of Virginia Street between Grand and Oak Avenues. Construction will start soon and the post office will be ready for occupancy by January 1. To Gabelites this new building serves as another reminder of the need for a new building in this community. Postal officials are also well aware of the need, having been supplied with undeniable statistics that prove the inadequacy of the present quarters. Coral Gables has expressed a willingness to wait until the war crisis subsides before again pressing its demands for a new building. The residents of this community feel that Federal funds are more needed in defense projects at this time. But the willingness to wait does not mean that we have forgotten the need for a new building. Coral Gables deserves a new building and has the right to expect it at the first opportunity.

A Tip to Car Owners

With the present auto inspection stickers expiring on September 15, Coral Gables firemen face busy days ahead. Already they have started the work of re-inspecting the motor vehicles in this city and the bulk of this work must be completed by the deadline. The enormity of this task becomes apparent with the statement from the Fire Department that approximately 9,000 stickers will be issued for the six-month period. During the period just ending 6,600 inspections were made and the winter always brings with it a sizeable increase. Gabelites can do themselves and the firemen a favor by bringing their cars in as early as possible, and thus avoiding a last-minute jam as the deadline nears. Inspections are being conducted at the fire station every day from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M., except Saturdays, when the bureau closes at noon. A charge of 50 cents is made for each inspection. Wise motorists will take a tip and bring their cars in now, while there is no long waiting line. The inspection takes only a few minutes, while later it may mean a long wait.

$7,000,000 Customers

The Chamber of Commerce survey, showing that retail sales in Coral Gables totaled over $7,000,000 last year and are running 10 per cent ahead of that figure in 1941, should serve as a mighty attractive lure to firms contemplating business sites in this community. To the best of our knowledge, the Chamber's figures are reliable and compare favorably with reports obtained from other sources. We agree with Frank Holley, that the growth of business in Coral Gables has been a healthy and not a speculative one. The large volume of business done by the stores in this community is a tribute to the initiative of the men and women in business here. It is only because they have maintained a modern shopping area in Coral Gables, that so many people have seen fit to do their buying here. To the Gables resident who still insists on going out of town to shop, this figure should be a pretty strong argument to spend those shopping dollars here. After all, $7,000,000 worth of customers can hardly be wrong.

OUR TOWN by Jim Moore

Coral Gables, evidently, isn't the only community that has its problems. A copy of the Great Neck News, which came to our attention this week, brings word of a troublesome situation that is confronting the citizenry of the Village of Great Neck Plaza, N. Y. It seems that four years ago, the city fathers there passed an ordinance forbidding any citizen, male or female, who had passed the age of 17, to appear on the streets of the village clad in shorts. The purpose of the ordinance is somewhat cloudy, but it is believed that the town's guiding lights had high morally and moral reasons for their actions. All went well, with the Great Neckers going about with their knees properly covered, until last week, when the arm of the law reached out and grabbed the first offender—comely, twenty-six-year-old Mrs. E. M. Boyajian. The "culprit" was a newcomer to Great Neck and didn't know of the existence of the ordinance. Nevertheless, ignorance of the law was no excuse, so she paid a $5.00 fine in Municipal Court. We have to draw what would happen to the Great Neck Plaza city fathers should they happen to pay Coral Gables a visit. A trip up Ponce de Leon Boulevard on a sunny day would be enough to send they scurrying back to Long Island, blushing furiously. Personally, we take issue with the Great Neckers, and agree glad to state that the Great Neck News sees eye-to-thigh with us. As a Gabelite, we feel pretty well qualified to speak about community esthetics. After all, our town isn't known as the "City Beautiful" for nothing. Now, we're not saying that shapely figures, displayed in shorts on our streets, are the reason Coral Gables has earned the reputation of being one of the most beautiful communities in the nation. But we do say that said figures and "gorgeous gams" do not detract one bit from this reputation—in fact, they help quite a bit. After all, Steve Hannagan put Miami Beach across at the nation's No. 1 resort, through such thousands of pictures of curvaceous girls in sun and shorts and bathing suits. Fortunately for Great Neck Plaza, the newspapers there looks at the situation with a clear editorial eye—and seems to offer a proper solution. The News disputes the idea that the ordinance protects the morals of the community with this comment, "Do the village fathers believe that by removing the shorts law on the books they are precluding a local outburst of depravity? Apparently not, for the law includes men of more than seventeen years, and we can't see how the sight of a pair of knobby knees on a septuagenarian gentleman could possibly arouse evil in anyone's mind." Apparently, then, the general impression is that the shorts law helps make the village more beautiful. Comments The News, "'It's a silly law, sure,' you hear people say, 'and it's too bad about that nice-looking young girl getting fined. Shorts are all right for the young and shapely girls, but if you let them wear 'em you can't say anything about these hefty matrons, walking down Middle Neck Road in shorts and halters, and they look terrible. If the law keeps them off the streets, it's okay.'" With a sheer stroke of editorial genius, the News solves the problem. We quote: "If that's the answer, and the shorts ordinance exists only to insure that main street pedestrians will be unrepulsive to the eye, the solution is simple. Merely change the words 'more than seventeen years' to 'more than 150 pounds' and you will turn the trick. It would be quite easy, too, to install a weighing scale at the main intersection of the town, so that officers of the law could check the avoirdupois of suspects as they go about their shopping." We sincerely hope that Great Neck's problem hasn't become Coral Gables' problem. Twould be tragic if Joe Whitley and associates ever got the idea to ban the shorts-clad figures that enhance the local landscape. But knowing the gentlemen that guide our municipal destinies, we harbor no fears along these lines. As to a weight limit for would-be shorts wearers, we prefer to take the bitter with the sweet, or should we say the heavy with the light. After all, this IS Florida, where, thank hevvin, you can wear what you darn well please.

All In Step

DEFENSE WORKERS DEFENSE BONDS AND SAVINGS CITIZEN

Dollars and Sense By ROMEYN W. SMITH Investment Consultant

Trends in business and in security prices may be defined as the changes which occur over periods of, time. We doubt if anyone would deny the existence of trends during the past ten to twelve years. To, ignore trends is to ignore the most important factor in investment management. Long-term trends are the really important ones. Usually term trends are the really important ones. Usually they may be foreseen by a trained investment manager. Short swings in security prices are utterly impossible to predict consistently, a fact which is proven by the lifelong records of numerous market operators during the past fifty years. Security prices, particularly common stock prices, are subject to three kinds of market movements. First we have the long trends already mentioned. These usually last, in peacetime, from two to five years. Next, we have the "short swings," sometimes called secondary reactions. Normally, they occupy as many months as the long trends do years. Lastly, there are the day-to-day and week-to-week movements, within the secondary reactions. These three market movements have been likened to the tide, the waves and the ripples. Investors are not predictable—the tide ebbs and flows. Upon the tide, whether in or out, fret the waves. Sometimes this way, sometimes that, unpredictable as the wind which drives them. And then, on the waves, the ripples. Elusive as the proverbial flea. No individual becomes an expert investor until he is able to free himself from the rainbow-chasing delusion of trying to predict the course of the fickle wind and the meaningless jumps of the erratic flea. Not understanding the long-trend tide movements nor the forces which control them, the untrained investor is likely to mistake the short swing for the long trend and vice versa. He is nervous. Jumpy. He is used to action. He thinks something ought to be done. Maybe his broker or security dealer, who need commissions to live, is pressing him to make a trade. This "anxious-do-something" atmosphere tends to generate a confused worry about the short swings. The result is a loss of perspective on the long trends. Obviously, the objective of long-trend management is to hold the proper "types" of securities during the major portion of a long uptrend; then sell them and avoid the losses which are certain to result from the major downtrends. What causes long trends? They are caused by numerous factors. Our highly developed economy rests upon the constant interplay of many forces. These include tariffs, the supply of money, crops, foreign trade, politics, the rise and fall of commodity prices, public psychology, war, the attitude of labor, the attitude of capital, and taxation. When the delicate relation of these forces and groups of forces gets out of balance, a major change in the long-term trend is certain to follow. Inexperienced investors are unable to anticipate major changes in trend. Most individuals engaged in business do not have the necessary time or unemotional detachment from current events, which are so essential to long-trend planning. It is a sad but true fact that people in all walks of life, who are untrained in finance, glibly offer opinions and indulge in loose talk about 'securities, market movements, etc. Walk into the board room of any brokerage house and you will see them by the dozen. Just because a man has qualified as a doctor, lawyer, commercial banker or accountant, it does not follow that he automatically qualifies as an investment expert. The science or art of investment and finance requires just as much education, experience and hard work as does the successful practice of any other business or profession.

In Our Mail

Editor, The Riviera: Why don't some of the residents in this town do something about organizing an amateur theatrical group. The University has one and the Theatre of the Fifteen, a professional group, is active here, but I think that the people who live here the year round would enjoy a similar activity. Think it over, would-be Thespians. GEORGE WHEATON. Editor, The Riviera: I thought this might interest you. While motoring through Maine a few weeks ago, we stopped at a small roadside place to get a bit of lunch. To our surprise, we found a copy of The Riviera lying on the counter. The proprietor told us that he had been asking some other tourists about Florida and that they had left the paper for him to read. He told us that Coral Gables sounded like a swell town and that he hoped to come down some winter. You sure do get around. MRS. ALVIN BENNETT. Editor, The Riviera: In a recent edition of a Miami paper, a Coral Gables lady was quoted as saying that she was going to reduce her gasoline consumption by cutting down her shopping trips to Miami. Instead of making a daily trip, she is only going to make two a week, and thus save gasoline. If the lady was really smart, and a true Gabelite, she could cut her gas use even more by shopping in Coral Gables and eliminating those Miami trips altogether. I'm sure she would find the merchandise just as good, the price just as reasonable—and she would not only be helping her country, but the merchants in her own town. A LOCAL BUSINESS MAN. Editor, The Riviera: Your column anent the study of our city government by the British students offered a constructive suggestion for our citizens. I am in thorough accord with your thought that the city might well stage a similar session for the citizenry, so that local residents could become familiar with the mode of operation of our city government. I believe you have hit upon a subject that can be developed at the proper time into a commendable activity. Needless to say, right now is not the proper time. But October or November might well be so. The idea will need proper amount of publicity and explanation to the public. This you are in a position to furnish through the columns of The Riviera, and if the meeting is sponsored by The Riviera it might well be that you could develop a front-page feature. I hope you can see your way clear to carry through this idea in some manner. If I can be of assistance to you in developing interest by telephone, or in certain persons or otherwise, please call upon me. Yours very truly, S. DUFFIELD HOPKINS, JR.

New Tax Law

The new tax law requiring 100 per cent valuation of real and personal properties in Florida will drastically alter county budgets, Mr. English has state than any other act passed by the 1941 Legislature. Comptroller Lee has power to O. K. county tax rolls and general county budgets, Mr. English has power to O. K. school budgets, and Governor Holland is authorized to remove assessors and collectors who fail to perform their duties under the new regulations. The only occasions on which Lee, English or the Governor can intervene are when the assessor fails to make the proper assessments, or when the budgets are in excess of the totals for the previous year. No tax roll is legal unless the comptroller signs it. This means that the comptroller can hold up any tax roll if he feels that proper assessments have not been made. In some quarters it has been predicted that the enforcement of the new tax law will result in defeat of tax assessors at the polls. The Observer is not in accord with this view. The assessor who performs his duties impartially under the new setup has nothing to fear. In our opinion, the assessor who fails to live up to the letter of the law is the one who will lose his political scalp. If the act does no more than reduce or eliminate the delinquent tax problem it will justify all the claims that have been made for it.—ST. AUGUSTINE OBSERVER. The Riviera invites communications from its readers on any subject. The mail column is always open as a sounding board of public opinion. If you agree with any of our editorials, we'd like to hear about it. If you disagree, your opinion is just as welcome, and we'll print it. Communications for the mail column must be signed, but the writer's name will be deleted if requested.

This One's on You

POTS AND PANS—The Thomas C. Pooles, now vacationing in Avalon, N. J., fully expect to return here to find that all their cooking implements have been melted up to make airplanes. Cary Reece, who is living in their house during their absence, wrote them stating that she had given all their pots and pans for national defense, "knowing that they would have done the same had they been here." Confidentially, it's just a joke, and the culinary ware is still safe in the cupboard. JUNGLE NOTE—Tommy Hand's was 'filled with its regular quota of Saturday night customers, busy at the old American custom of elbow bending, when a stranger, clad in shorts, sports shirt and a sun helmet, entered the room. Quick as a flash, one of the regular imbibers turned to the newcomer, extended his hand and said solemnly, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume." TAINT SO—Olga Minor Humm writes from Beaufort, N. C., to correct a University of Miami news release to the effect that girl cheer leaders were used for the first time last year. "To keep the record straight," says Mrs. Humm, "the university had girls for cheer leaders as far back as 1931, and Aileen Booth (now Mrs. Andrew Barrett Shaw) was the best they've ever had." DISPLAY—The little boy who came into The Riviera office the other day wanted to know what the long pole leaning against the wall was used for. "Why, that," he was told, "is a flagpole." "When do you put it outside," he asked, "—on pay day?" BEAUTY BY THE SEA—At the Gables Theatre last week a bevy of bathing beauties vied for honors. The little boy sitting next to us applauded all and each without favoritism. Then he turned and asked: "When are they going in?" SMALL WORLD, ETC.—Mrs. Aurelia Davis, secretary of the Ponce de Leon High School, and her niece, Mary C. Symonds, of the Ponce faculty, were motoring North this summer. Somewhere near the Englishtown Ferry, which crosses the Ohio River, they noticed a car driving directly behind them. It was an identical make of the one they were driving. In the course of time the second car pulled alongside and the driver shouted: "Where did you get that car?" Traffic then became congested, the second car pulled ahead, and Mrs. Davis and Miss Symonds noticed it bore a Florida license plate. Later, on the ferry, the occupants of the second car were revealed as Dr. Arthur Weiland and his nephew, Lyle Roberts, of Coral Gables. Dr. Weiland was on his way to his Illinois farm, Roberts to his former home in the Dakotas. PAMPERED POOCH—Probably no other dog in Coral Gables gets any better care than "Queenie," the pet of the Albert Gleason's. "Queenie" even has her teeth brushed for her when she wakes in the morning. Whatta life! Mr. Jim Moore, Coral Gables Riviera, Coral Gables, Florida. Dear Jim: I note in today's issue of your paper that you continue to enjoy poking fun at me for my use of a certain post-graduate word that Dan Webster forgot to put in his book. Okey, okey. In the following, I use another expression that even you will understand without the aid of your Research Department, as it is defined later on in this rhyme. HOW I LEARNED DISCRETION As a barefoot boy I used to steal Ears of corn and make a meal By roasting them wrapped in clay In a big bonfire on Saturday. I snuck through vineyards to collect Blue Concords by the luscious bunch, But once was guilty of neglect, Not spying "pickers" eating lunch. So I was caught by a sour-faced hick, You should have heard that farmer cuss When presenting me with a well-placed kick On my tender gluteus maximus. So! When to rob vineyards you are inclined Look right and left—and also behind, Always approach your objective with care, To avoid black and blue marks—you know where! Yours sincerely, TOM HENDERSON. STREET LIBRARY—Chester Moore seems to have inadvertently established a free reading room adjacent to his Post Office Soda Shop. Every afternoon, from 10 to 20 youngsters seat themselves on the paving just north of the shop and regale themselves with the adventures of Superman, The Blue Beetle, the Bat Man and other heroes of the comic books. Mr. Moore makes no charge for the reading privileges, but insists that the kids be quiet and "stay put."